r --> z

[Charles Doyle]

"Bozo" from "Beauregard"?
______________________________________

>
>>---- Original message ----
>>>Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:10:04 +0100
>>>From: Lynne Murphy <m.l.murphy at SUSSEX.AC.UK>
>>>Subject: r --> z
>>>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>>
>>>Is it common for /r/ to change to [z]?
>>>
>>>I'm wondering about a set of UK/Australian nicknames:
>>>
>>>Barry --> Bazza
>>>Sharon/Sharapova --> Shazza (also Shazzer)
>>>Maurice --> Mozza  (and more famously, Morrissey-->Mozza)
>>>Boris --> Bozza
>>>Charles/Charlotte --> Chazza
>>>Antony Worrall Thompson --> Wozza
>>>Gary --> Gazza
>>>Cheryl/Cherie/Sheryl --> Chezza/Shezza
>>>
>>>(stole several of these from the Wikipedia article on 'Zza
>>>nicknames':http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zza_nicknames.)
>>>
>>>Other famous ones involve some kind of sibilant at the start of the reduced syllable:
>>
>>>Heseltine --> Hezza
>>>Prescott --> Prezza
>>>Gascoigne --> Gazza
>>>
>>>The only one in the Wikipedia article that doesn't follow one of these patterns was Gavin-->Gazza, but we can assume that he's only Gazza because he was dating a Chazza.
>>>
>>>Any explanation for why -zza would be what the r-starting syllable would be 'weakened' to?  (I'm obviously no phonetician, though I have played one in first-year lectures.)  I suppose the tongue is in the same neighbourhood and  both r and z are voiced, but do similar things happen in other contexts?
>>>
>>>Lynne

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